In Response to Re: Rockies near deal for Scutaro... : De La Rosa will not be starting the season with the Rockeis after TJ surgery. Her might be back by May. Juan Nicasio has not pitched since being struck on the neck by a line drive last August. He only started throwing bullpen sessions last month and has yet to face an actual hitter. They won't deal Pomeranz or Alex White in a package for Scutaro, and probably not Tyler Chatwood either. And you are right about Chacin. However, that still leaves Jason Hammel (most likely candidate if talks resume), Josh Outman, Guillermo Moscoso, Esmil Rogers, and Clay Mortenson, among others.Posted by notin

“You see, until a few weeks ago, it seemed as if Wall Street had effectively bribed and bullied our political system into forgetting about that whole drawing lavish paychecks while destroying the world economy thing. Then, all of a sudden, some people insisted on bringing the subject up again. And their (Occupy Wall Street) outrage has found resonance with millions of Americans. No wonder Wall Street is whining.”

This may be nothing more than the Rockies casting around to determine what middle infielders are available at what price. Keep in mind that the Sox will have RF and LF (for a few weeks) to fill, adding SS to that list could be a problem.

This may be nothing more than the Rockies casting around to determine what middle infielders are available at what price. Keep in mind that the Sox will have RF and LF (for a few weeks) to fill, adding SS to that list could be a problem.Posted by Thomasmtom

The Sox have people capable of playing SS.

Right now the Sox have three outfielders and a man learning the job. Only one is sure to play every day. Valentine will have to mix and match with Sweeney, McDonald, and Aviles flanking Ellsbury. If this holds, how does that look to start the season?

Loved everything til ya got to Gavin Floyd..No way is he worth Middlebrooks, swihart and Pimental...oh, and one of our more reliable BP arms, ATch...Sorry Moon, your over valuing Floyd IMO, by a large margin...Great ideas on the others though :)

In Response to Re: Rockies near deal for Scutaro... : The Sox have people capable of playing SS. Right now the Sox have three outfielders and a man learning the job. Only one is sure to play every day. Valentine will have to mix and match with Sweeney, McDonald, and Aviles flanking Ellsbury. If this holds, how does that look to start the season?Posted by expitch

The Cubs aren't trading anyone young. Right now, Byrd can play and Jenks can't. Taking Jenks is partial payment for the Theo issue resolution.We'd get robbed on the Scutaro trade. Giving them $1M values Scutaro and Hammels the same, and Scutaro is far better. Right, I wasn't aware Hammels gets $4.75M in 2012, scratch the $1M payment on Scoot. We'd be giving up too much for Floyd, and I've been advocating for him since the off-season started. I won't argue with this, but I am basing this on my opinion that Middlebrooks is over-rated and seeing what other teams are getting for their pitchers.Posted by moonslav59

Theo on comp

"I think you have to put it in context. In the history of baseball with all the executives that have changed teams, many of which were on lateral moves, let alone those who left for promotions like I did, throughout the history of baseball there's really only been a handful of instances where there's been any compensation whatsoever for executives," Epstein said. "If you wanted to look at precedent, you'd say, 'Well, whether I'm worth nothing, or something,' -- you would probably get some opinions on that if you ask your callers -- the bottom line is when executives change teams there is no compensation. There have been a handful of instances where there is compensation, and that compensation has been pretty reasonable. If you look when Andy MacPhail, who had won two World Series, left on a lateral move from Minnesota to Chicago back in '94, his compensation was like the 30th ranked prospect in the Cubs system and a little bit of cash.

If they trade Scrubtaro don't worry because though everyone thinks Iglesias can't hit one thing they are sure of is he is a top tier defensive SS! As for the pitching additions everyone seems too think the Sox need, I don't see a great need. 1.2.and three are already penciled in and they already have 5 contenders for spots 4 and 5 and the 5 spot is only a half of season gig until DiceK returns. As it stands right now Bard,Aceves,Miller,Cook,and Padilla are going to jostle for the 4 and 5 spots in the rotation what do the Sox gain by adding Oswalt? He wasn't all that in the NL East and no offence meant but the AL east is an absolute bear!!!! The bullpen is going to be just as good as the first 5 months of last season as Bailey or Melancon replace Paps and even if Bard or Aceves are one of the winners in the rotation shuffle the other will return to the back end of the pen. Miller, Carlson,Hill,Doubrant and Morales will duke it out for the Lefty spot or spots in the pen barring any other acquisitions. While Albers,Atchison,Pena,Bowden and maybe Wilson fight it out for the remaining RHP spots. On paper not having played a single game it doesn't look like a dire situation to me,but what do I know.

The Cubs aren't trading anyone young. Right now, Byrd can play and Jenks can't. Taking Jenks is partial payment for the Theo issue resolution. We'd get robbed on the Scutaro trade. Giving them $1M values Scutaro and Hammels the same, and Scutaro is far better. Right, I wasn't aware Hammels gets $4.75M in 2012, scratch the $1M payment on Scoot. We'd be giving up too much for Floyd, and I've been advocating for him since the off-season started. I won't argue with this, but I am basing this on my opinion that Middlebrooks is over-rated and seeing what other teams are getting for their pitchers.Posted by moonslav59

so you're just saying that you "think" middlebrooks is overrated? so when kenny williams calls up ben and asks for swihart and middlebrooks for floyd and when ben laughs in his face, kenny says "oh no, im sorry i forgot to tell you, i think middlebrooks is overrated, so you should give him to me for a lot less" so you think thats how it works? in that case i think troy tulowitzki and carlos gonzalez are both completely overrated and that michael bowden, pimentel, and atchison are some of the best pitchers in baseball, so the sox should make that happen....bahahahah